Arizona Cardinals on list of teams eligible for ‘Hard Knocks’

Hard Knocks, HBO’s wildly popular documentary-style show which gives viewers an inside look at an NFL training camp, has had trouble finding teams to participate in the past.

That led to changes from the league office last October to come up with a pool of eligible teams to choose from should no franchise step up and volunteer to be featured. Of course, there are stipulations. Teams with new coaches, teams that have made the playoffs two years running and teams that have appeared on the show in the last decade are exempt.

Using that formula, the Arizona Cardinals are one of eight teams that could be forced to participate in 2014. The others are the Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants, Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers and St. Louis Rams.

“It’s a total distraction, and I think it’s an embarrassment to players,” Arians said in an interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio last October. “I think when players are released, some of the things that are said between coaches and players are too personal, and nobody else’s business.”

Only six franchises have been featured in eight seasons of the show, with the Cincinnati Bengals (2009 and 2013) and the Dallas Cowboys (2002 and 2008) participating twice each.